Indian Storytelling More Than Entertainment

EDITOR'S NOTE: In a dispatch article for Tidepool.org, writer Seth Zuckerman reported on a recent festival held by the California Indian Storystellers Association. One of the stories Zuckerman described is food for thought for all aboriginals; but, perhaps for Metis in particular. The full article may be viewed at http://www.tidepool.org/dispatches/storytelling.cfm

Chumash storyteller Georgiana Sanchez told the tale of a foundling cougar cub who was raised by a flock of sheep. He grew up eating grass and thinking he was nothing but an ugly sheep. It was only when a grown cougar spotted the young cougar grazing amid the woolly herd and crept around to investigate, that the cougar cub got an opportunity to see one of its kindred animals. The sheep fled, and the cub was left face to face with the adult cougar.

"Do you know who you are?" asks the grown animal. Even after peering at his reflection in a still pool at the river's edge, the young cat still thinks he's an ugly sheep -- and worse yet, thinks that the adult cougar is too. It is only when the older cat asks the cub to roar -- and gradually coaxes his feeble "baaa" into a deafening "ROWR" -- that the cub realizes his true identity.

The subtext was clear -- that by hearing the voices of our kind and speaking them in turn, we anchor ourselves in our identities. This is how culture is passed on from one generation to the next, and that is the process which the California Indian Storytellers Association is strengthening with each story-swapping festival.

Used by permission. Thank you tidepool.org